ACCESS

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide) is another excellent resource for both teachers and students. It provides a means for students to receive instruction in subjects that are not available to them at their school. In the first tab, About Access, there are many documents that explain what Access is and how it is used. There are documents that provide information about the implementation of Access. There is also a list of people on the "Governor's Task Force on Distance Learning". The next tab, Courses, provides a course catalog of course descriptions, web based and video conferencing course offerings. For students it gives contact information and offers software for downloading. For Educators it offers an application to become a Distance Learning teacher. It also offers some other resources. For Parents there are two pdf. files. One is an informational brochure and the other is a list of course offerings.

There is a way to contact the administrator, Ms. Martha Davidson, and the coordinator, Ms Earlene Patton. It gives both phone number and email address.There is an additional Help tab that provides computer requirements, recommended requirements for labs, and a FAQ for further information. There is also a Resources tab that gives other files in pdf. or doc. format.

As a teacher, I think this would be a great resource for other teachers. This is geared toward the upper grades. As I will be teaching in the elementary school, I do not think I will use this. However, as a parent if my child had the opportunity to use this, I would be all for it. It is a great way to expose our children to things they might otherwise miss.